Grants talk:Programs/Wikimedia Community Fund/Rapid Fund/Wiki Loves Earth 2023 in Zambia (ID: 22101183)

Endorsment from Grace N. (talk)

1. Why the proposal is important for your community and why you think the strategies chosen will achieve the results that are expected?

The proposed Wiki Loves Earth 2023 in Zambia project is essential for my Wikimedia community for several reasons.

Firstly, the project will help to promote the natural beauty of Zambia to the world. By documenting and sharing pictures of Zambia's natural heritage sites and landscapes, the project will help to raise awareness of the country's unique natural resources and the need to preserve them.

Secondly, the project will contribute to the Wikimedia community's mission of creating free and open knowledge. The photographs captured during the competition will be uploaded to Wikimedia Commons, where they will be freely available for use by anyone, anywhere in the world.

Thirdly, the competition can help foster a sense of community among Wikimedia contributors in Zambia, as well as provide an opportunity for collaboration with other international Wikimedia communities. This can lead to the sharing of knowledge and expertise, as well as the development of new partnerships and initiatives.

In terms of strategies chosen to achieve the expected results, the proposal outlines a comprehensive approach that includes outreach and engagement with various stakeholders, including local photography clubs, conservation organizations, and tourism boards. This can help increase participation in the competition and ensure that a wide range of natural heritage sites are represented.

The proposal also includes plans for training workshops and photo-walks, which can help build capacity among participants and ensure that high-quality images are submitted to the competition. Additionally, the use of social media and online platforms to promote the competition can help raise awareness and increase participation.

Overall, the Wiki Loves Earth 2023 proposal in Zambia is important for the Wikimedia community as it provides an opportunity to showcase the natural beauty of Zambia, while also fostering community engagement and collaboration. The strategies chosen are well thought out and can help achieve the expected results.

Finally, the Wiki Loves Earth 2023 in Zambia project will provide an opportunity for members of the Wikimedia community in Zambia to come together and collaborate on a project that is of significant importance to their country.

2. Could you highlight any aspects that you think are particularly well developed: for instance, the strategies and activities proposed, the levels of community engagement, outreach to underrepresented groups, addressing knowledge gaps, partnerships, the overall budget and learning and evaluation section of the proposal, etc?

Strategies and activities proposed: The proposal outlines a comprehensive approach to promoting the competition and increasing participation, including outreach to local photography clubs, conservation organizations, and tourism boards. The proposal also includes plans for training workshops and photo-walks, which can help build capacity among participants and ensure high-quality submissions. Additionally, the use of social media and online platforms to promote the competition can help raise awareness and increase participation.

The proposal highlights the importance of engaging with the local Wikimedia community in Zambia, as well as building partnerships with other international Wikimedia communities. This can lead to the sharing of knowledge and expertise, as well as the development of new partnerships and initiatives.

Addressing knowledge gaps: The proposal emphasizes the importance of using the images collected during the competition to improve the quality of content on the Wikimedia platform. This can help address knowledge gaps and ensure that accurate and up-to-date information is available to readers.

Partnerships: The proposal outlines plans for building partnerships with local organizations, including conservation groups and tourism boards. These partnerships can help promote eco-tourism and conservation efforts in Zambia, as well as increase participation in the competition.

Overall budget: The proposal includes a detailed budget that outlines the costs associated with organizing the competition, including expenses related to outreach and promotion, workshops and training, and prizes and awards.

Learning and evaluation: The proposal includes a section on learning and evaluation, which outlines plans for collecting and analyzing data related to participation, engagement, and impact. This can help identify areas of success and areas for improvement, and can inform future iterations of the competition.

4. Do you think the proposal is going to contribute in any way to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy?

Yes! Wiki Loves Earth proposal contributes to important developments around specific Wikimedia projects or Movement Strategy by promoting collaboration, community building, increasing the quantity and quality of freely licensed content, raising awareness about the natural heritage, and encouraging participation and diversity.

5. Do you think if the proposal is coherent in terms of the objectives, strategies, budget and expected results (metrics)?

Yes! primary objective of the Wiki Loves Earth Zambia 2023 proposal is to increase the coverage and quality of free, openly licensed images of natural sites in Zambia on Wikimedia Commons. This objective aligns with the larger goal of the Wiki Loves Earth global campaign, which is to encourage people to take photographs of natural heritage sites and upload them to Wikimedia Commons under a free license, thereby creating a database of high-quality images that can be used by anyone for any purpose.

--Grace N. (talk) 10:19, 15 March 2023 (UTC)

Endorsment from Jae zambia (talk)

1. It will help with outreach and rise awareness about our community

--Jae zambia (talk) 11:00, 26 March 2023 (UTC)

Funded

Hello Icem4k, thanks for applying for this grant request. We reviewed and approved the grant in the amount of 60,530.95 ZMK (3,461.55 USD).

• We recognize the project and community impact and we thank you for your work on the project proposal; however, we recommend a reduced budget for this project to ensure that the community impact and participants number are aligned with the estimated costs.
• We are partially funding this grant request and highly recommend decreasing the costs of some budget elements to reflect on the number of participants.(examples: Merchandize, equipment rental, food and beverages…).
• The activities, budget elements, and costs should be adjusted accordingly.
• In this fiscal year, we have already funded 7597,31 USD for you and your group. Per the Rapid Fund eligibility criteria, the total grant value an individual or group can access annually is up to USD 10,000. In this Rapid Fund review cycle, you have applied for two other grants. Full approval of both requests would cause you to exceed the Rapid Fund annual limit of USD 10,000. This is another reason for the partial funding decision. Please note that we will not be able to review any other grant requests by you before Jul 1, 2023.

On behalf of the Middle East and Africa regional funds team Best regards, DGuedri (WMF) (talk) 06:22, 25 April 2023 (UTC)

Hi @DGuedri (WMF) Thank you for reviewing my grant application and approving a grant of 60,530.95 ZMK (3,461.55 USD). I appreciate your recommendation to reduce the budget for the project, and I am committed to implementing your advice. I will adjust the budget elements accordingly to ensure that the costs are aligned with the expected number of participants at the same also prioritize the essential items to ensure that the project's impact is not compromised in anyway whatsoever while also making sure that the budget is reasonable and aligned with the actual costs and will update it on the google doc's sheet. I apologize for my oversight regarding the cycle starting in July, but I fully acknowledge that I have already received 7597,31 USD in this fiscal year and that I have applied for two other grants in this Rapid Fund review cycle. Once again, thank you for the grant and your team's support. I am honored to receive this grant and committed to delivering an impactful project.

Best regards,

Isaac Kanguya✌ (talk) 08:05, 25 April 2023 (UTC)